See You, Space Cowboy

Posted on Thu May 28th, 2026 @ 2:58am by Lieutenant JG Shavva & Commander Darius Cross

2,249 words; about a 11 minute read

Mission: Back Into Action
Location: Holodeck, USS Yamato
Timeline: After: Unexpected Transfer

ON:

Jodrol stepped through the Holosuite doors and was taken to an old town in the wild west era. Horses and old fashion clothing. The smell and feel of it was more than enough to pull him into that time period. He made his way to the usual place where he would find his XO, Darius Cross. A saloon not far from the towns general store. It was a bit of a wild place, between the fist fights in the streets and the brothel keeper pushing his ladies to advertise their services as much as they can, it could be surprisingly relaxing. He could see why someone like Darius would enjoy it.

As he pushed through the doors, walking into the saloon which was full of drunken commotion, he look a minute to look around for his friend. With no sign of him in sight, he moved over to the bar, leaning against it as he occasional double check the crowd. As he settled into his position, the barkeep walked over to him, wiping the counter with his rag.

“What’ll ya have, partner?” He said as he leaned against his side of the bar towards Jodrol.

“Nothing, thank you.” The Trill answered with a smile. “I’m looking for Darius Cross.”

“Cross?!” Shouts one of the men sitting at the bar. As he stood up from his chair, it was obvious he already had a few, from the slurring in his voice and shaky way of walking. As the man approached, he placed his hand on the counter, leaning in slightly. “I’m lookin’ fur that.. that.. cheat since the last time.” He paused for a moment, as if trying to keep himself stable or struggling to retrieve his thought, before continuing. “The last time… he was here. Man’s a cheat!”

“And you’re a drunk!” The bartender countered as he placed the rag over his shoulder. He shook his head, having gone through this same conversation with the drunk before, as a deep sigh escaped his lips. “Why don’t you take yourself back to your wife, Bill? He sticks to his own, only showing up when someone needs dealing with.”

“I may be drunk, but I know when I’ve been cheated at poker.” The man shouted as he slapped his fist on the counter. “If he were here, I’d-” Before he could finish his sentence, he felt the cold barrel of a weapon against the back of his neck.

“You’d do what exactly, Bill?” Came a soft voice, familiar to Jodrol. On the other side of a long rifle was an Orion woman in tight pants and western boots. Under her long coat was a white blouse with a necktie with a brooch against the collar. She raised his head slightly, to eye the man from under her wide brim cowgirl hat. She gave a slight smirk before adding softly. “Not a thing, because we both know you’re only upset because he cheated you before you could cheat him.”

Bill slowly turned around and quickly raised his hand when he saw the barrel of the rifle raised to his nose. He looked around the room, seeing no one coming to his aid, before replying quickly. “Your man’s a no good dirty cheat!”

The Orion woman lowered the rifle, as she leaned in slightly, counting in her soft voice. “A no good dirty cheat whose gone out of his way to help you poor folks. That’s why no one is sticking up for you, Bill. They don’t want to bite the hand that helps defend this town.” She narrowed her eyes a bit as she leaned back slowly. “You looking to bite that same hand, Bill?”

The man looked around eyes, seeing others in the saloon look away, before letting out a huff and walking off. He pushed through the double doors, stomping through them, as he made his way out.

“What kind of a program are you and Darius running here, Shavva?” Jodrol asked with a smile.

“Only the best kind, Captain.” Shavva replied as she placed the rifle over her shoulder and removed saddle bag from over her other one. As she placed the bag on the bar counter, she looked to the bartender and said. “You know what I am here for, Seamus. Make sure the bottles haven’t been opened.”

The bartender chuckled softly, before reaching under the bar and removing the lid off a crate on the floor, revealing several bottles laying on hay. He took a hold of two bottles and placed them on the counter with a smirk.”Feel free to check them yourself, Sure Shot.”

“Sure shot?” Jodrol questioned with a raised brow.

After Shavva placed the two bottles in her saddle bag, she put it over his shoulder and gripped the strap from the rifle against her other one. She gave Jodrol a smile. “That’s what they call me. Darius’s idea. Every outlaw gunslinger needs one. Or so he says.” The Orion gave him a small chuckle before placing a small sack of coins on the counter. She gestured for Jodrol to follow before walked toward the double doors. “Our camp isn’t that far. Just out of town.” She said before turning to ask. “What are you looking for Darius for? New orders?”

“Sort of.” Jodrol replied. As he stepped onto the dirt road, he looked around at the town again, taking a moment to admire the rustic look of everything. The buildings. The clothes. The simplicity of it all. He understood why Darius would enjoy a program like this.

“Come on.” Shavva said, as she checked the straps on the horses saddle, before tossing the saddle bad onto the rear of the horse. She placed her boot into the stirrup and lifted herself onto the saddle, gripping into the saddle horn as she swung her leg over to the other side. She took a hold of the reins, Shavva turned to Jodrol, whose mind seemed to be somewhere else. “Let’s get moving.” She said, extending her hand down to him.

He turned to look at her and soon looked up at her. Jodrol let out a laugh and shook his head. “Oh no. I’m not getting on that thing.”

“She’s not a thing.” Shavva replied, chuckling slightly, placing her hand on the side of the horses large neck, patting it slightly. “Her name is Rose and she’s going to make the trip easier, Sir. Wouldn’t want to run into any bandits or outlaws.”

“Aren’t you supposed to be an outlaw?” He countered with a smirk.

“Yes.” She replied, before smiling again as she added. “But to think I’m the only one would be foolish.” Shavva gave a quickly chuckle before extending her hand again. “Whenever you’re ready, Captain.”

Jodrol shook his head for a moment, placing his hands briefly on his hips, before finally gripping her hand going through the process of getting on the saddle. After a few attempts and adjusting to the uncomfortable position, they were on their way out of the town and down the dirt path. After a some time of traveling through the natural scenery and catching glimpses of some of the wildlife, they finally went off the path. The two made their way to a field where Jodrol spotted rising smoke. The closer they got, the more he realized it was a campfire with a figure knelt by the fire

The Trill smiled as the horse finally came to a stop. He looked down at the man and said with a hint of amusement. “Only you can get me onto a horse.” He gave him a chuckle, before being helped off the horse by Shavva. “This is an interesting program you have here, Cross. It’s a good thing the safeties were on or I’d be afraid of getting shot.” Jodrol gave him another laugh.

“They are off.” Darius replied, looking at the flame of the campfire, before looking up to Jodrol. “Wouldn’t be able to have a hint of authenticity otherwise.” He gave him a serious look before smirking. “I’m kidding. I only occasionally remove the safeties.I’ve don’t my best to make this program as close to how it was as possible, but there is only so many things I can do before the computer sends some kind of message to the ships counselor that I’m trying to intentionally get myself killed.”

Jodrol nodded his head slightly as he approached. “I understand. I guess that’s something you can argue with the new Captain with.”

Shavva looked at Darious with a smile as she approached after hitching the horse to a nearby tree. “So it’s offically then?”

Jodrol looked over to her, before looking back to Darius. “It’s officially the Yamato has a new Captain, it’s just-”

“Not me.” Darius replied softly, looking down lightly, before focusing back on Jodrol. The look in his eyes said it all. Darius was disappointed, as much as he wanted to hide it, they two knew each other too well to recognize the signs. “Well… guess there is nothing left to say.”

“What?! No!” Shavva spoke up, placing the saddle bag on the floor. “This is not it. You earned that Captain’s chair. You deserve it. They can’t take it away from you like that.” She wanted to throw something, but she couldn’t do anything but hold the feeling back. Of course she was upset. She saw how hard Darius worked for it. How much he pulled himself up in order to get that chair. The place where he started from, compared to where he was now, it was a large improvement and that chair was at the end of the road for him. A new chapter of his life, but it was pulled away.

“There are mitigating circumstances. A Captain who needs the ship to assist in with something. An old friend of hers, her former First Officer is missing, so this ship is what she asked for.” Jodrol began, until he was interrupted by Shavva.

“Why this ship? Why not another one? Why does it have to be the Yamato?” Shavva demanded to know as she walked over to Darius, who put his arm around her.

“Her name is Kaeda Kayano and she was the former Captain of the Yamato.” Jodrol replied calmly. He knew they were both angry and, it would be a while, till it passed. However, right now, he wanted to spend time with his friends. Not as their Captain, but as their close and personal friend.

Shavva countered quickly. “So, she’s pulling a Kirk and wants to relive her glory days. She’ll probably stick around after we get her friend and we’ll be stuck trying to keep the ship together because of every bad decision she makes that gets us into a fight.”

“To be fair…” Darius added softly, looking over to Shavva. “We have gotten into a couple of scraps during out peaceful missions.” He chuckled slightly before adding.

Jodrol smirked slightly as he took a seat by the fire. He looked over at them and couldn’t help but smile. All this time they did this, even going as far as inviting him, only for him to turn it down. This was what he was missing and he wanted to make up for the lost time a much as he could. “Look… Let me tell you what I know. You guys decide how to handle it. Just know, I was pulling for Darius to take the seat. Even when she approached me, I told her, but she’s got a job to do. A friend to help. Until the end of that mission, I expect you two to have her back, regardless of how much it hurts to do it from the second chair. You know this ship and the crew that’s been on it. She’s gonna need your help to keep things together. Just like I needed it.”

Darius sat down by the fire, across from Jodrol, as he let out a deep sigh. “You know I will, Nor.” He gave his friend a smile as he locked eyes with him again, reaching down to an unopened bottle, before handing it over to him.

“So will I.” Shavva replied, wrapping her arms around Darius's cybernetic arm.

“Now that that’s settled.” Jodrol said firmly as he opened the bottle. “Let’s enjoy our time together while we have it.” He raised the bottle up and added. “Just remember, this isn’t good-bye. It’s… see you, Space Cowboy.” He gave them a chuckle before taking a drink from the bottle, then gagging slightly, as the taste was far different then what he was used to.

As Jodrol began to cough, the two others laughed, before Darius finally said. “Yeah... Whiskey hits a bit different around these parts, doesn’t it?”

OFF:


Commander Darious Cross
Executive Officer
USS Yamato

&

Former Captain Jodrol Nor
Former Commanding Officer
USS Yamato

&

Lieutenant Shavva
Assistant Chief Security/Tactical Officer
USS Yamato

&

Various Western NPC’s

RSS Feed